


A Map and A Book

by Scioneeris



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Kink, Mild S&M, Romance, Slow Build, WIP, Yuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-08-13
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2017-11-12 01:59:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/485402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scioneeris/pseuds/Scioneeris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>RobinxNami. Nami wished she had a map to the brunette's heart. Robin wished there was a book to read into Nami's soul. Set after the Alabasta Arc, directly after Robin has joined the strawhats.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece anything. That genius belongs to the wonderful Eiichiro Oda. ^_^
> 
> Cross-posted on fanfiction.net

When the redhead sleepily stumbled into her arms, Robin wasn't quite sure what was wrong. She was fairly certain it had nothing to do with the weather, which was calm and quiet for the night and nothing to do with logic and reasoning.

This second conclusion was drawn when the younger girl threw her arms around her in a tight, deliberate squeeze.

"Navigator-san?" Robin whispered, tilting her head to get a better view of the girl's face. Nami was sound asleep.

Robin blinked. This was certainly new to her. She hadn't thought that her younger companion would actually sleepwalk, much less sleepwalk at the exact same time that Robin had gotten up for one of her nightly trips to the bathroom.

There was no reply from the sleeping girl and when Robin tried to pull away, the arms around her tightened considerably as Nami burrowed closer. If there were anyone else in the room but them, Robin figured there would've been a rather awkward silence in the air.

As it was just the two of them, she stood there and waited. She didn't really need another bathroom trip, it was just one of many ways to calm the agitation she couldn't quite shake off. Of course, there were other ways to relieve the tension and frustration, but some times it was simply too much of a headache.

Robin was mentally adding this to her list of stressors.

Not that she particularly minded being hugged, much less by one of her new nakama if it helped them in some way, but Nami's hug was bordering on the lines of discomfort. Her arms actually circled all the way around and in the silk pajamas, her fingers squeezed a side of softness at her chest, while the other hand dipped towards the silken waistband.

Robin took a careful breath and tried to pull away again. "Navigator-san?" She whispered, a little louder, giving a little shake.

There was no answer.

For a moment of thoughtful silence, the brunette actually thought seriously about her armful. Then a small smile stole onto her face as she leaned down and whispered in Nami's ear. "Navigator-san, you left some beri on the nightstand."

The arms dropped at once.

Robin retreated to her bed and slipped silently beneath the covers. She didn't care to have the redhead's famous temper directed toward her for some trivial matter. It would be best that she simply tried to go back to sleep right now.

It would be best for both of them.

But within seconds, Nami was awake, wiping the sleep from her eyes with the back of one hand. She yawned, blinking in the shadowy interior of their room. "Robin?" Her voice was sleepily confused as her mind tried to catch up to where the rest of her was.

"Yes, Navigator-san?" Robin kept her voice light and even.

Nami looked around her for a moment and then down at herself. She mumbled a few things. Then turned and shuffled back to her bed. "Never mind. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Robin shifted to face the wall. She mentally counted off the numbers in her head. Tonight would mark the eight occurrence of this strangeness. She worried, briefly, of the navigator's health, then dismissed it on the grounds that their adorable, attentive little doctor would not have let it slip past him.

With her thoughts swirling in an attempt to puzzle it all together, Robin pulled her pillow over her head and forced herself to sleep. She'd need the rest just in case there was any excitement tomorrow.

She hoped there wasn't.


	2. Normal Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long night, Nami just wants a normal day

Morning came beautifully and Robin kept an extra eye on the redhead as she sat on the deck with a book in hand. She was glad for once, to be able to read without fear in the daylight and at her own leisure.

It certainly helped that the handsome young cook fluttered to her side with constant refills of her favorite beverage and a platter of delicious snacks whenever her mind flittered towards thoughts of food.

The very peacefulness of everything was wonderful, soothing, almost.

Robin sipped her lukewarm coffee and turned another page in her book. She could speed read the entire volume, but it was nice to relax and relish each word for a change.

A shock of red hair caught her out of the corner of her eye and she let her eyes follow the navigator pacing the length of the deck. The girl was deeply engrossed in her thoughts to the point that she completely missed Luffy and Chopper dashing across the deck with Usopp right behind them.

Robin hid a smile in her coffee cup. She could already see how this would turn out. It was moments like these that also brightened her day. She was easily the oldest among the strawhat crew, but somehow just being around them made her feel younger by default.

Their energetic antics always kept her amused and when necessary, there seemed to be a healthy dose of maturity in there too. At this moment, Robin simply waited to see the comedy play out.

Their beloved captain and little doctor had obviously been playing some sort of game and accidently trampled through Usopp's makeshift workshop as he was trying to craft some new concoction. Such actions were deserving of a scolding that the long-nosed inventor immediately delivered, dashing after the culprits, waving his hammer in the air.

Zoro was in their path, but Luffy simply leaped over him without a second thought and Chopper scrambled around with a loud squeal. Nami was the second obstacle they encountered and Luffy ran smack into her as he turned to grin over his shoulder at Usopp.

"Ow!"

A second later, said Captain and company was lined up on the deck before her, matching bumps on their heads as Nami blew her smoking fist. "Next time…WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" She growled.

"We're sorry." They chorused, bowing obediently. "Very sorry."

Nami snorted, turning away. Why couldn't they be more like Sanji? Or Robin, for that matter. She thought, casting a glance towards the stairs where Robin sat comfortably in her chair, a book in one hand, coffee in the other. The dark eyes peered laughingly over the top of the book and Nami knew she was smiling in her usual way.

She returned the smile, faintly, turning away, only to have her attention redirected by Sanji's entrance. "Nami-swan~!" He sang cheerfully. "Robin-chwan~! Lunch is served." He caught Luffy's rocket towards the galley with a well-placed shoe to his rubber face. "and the rest of you idiots too. Oi, Luffy. Wait a moment. Ladies first!"

"Aw, Sanji!" Luffy's whine was immediately followed by a pouting exclamation of "Ow!"

When night came again, Nami crawled into her bed, tugging the covers up to her chin. She didn't really want to sleep tonight. Rather, she didn't want to close her eyes and dream tonight. It was too easy to give in to the nightmares and on days like these, stressful and exhausting days resulting from the lack of sleep, she simply didn't want to deal with it.

But her body was tired and demanded the rest that was due to it. She couldn't refuse as her eyelids slid shut.

And she was right.

The dreams came at once. In full force, with everything that they'd been and then some more. The nightmares attacked her once after the other. Bellemere and Nojiko bruised, beaten and bleeding to death. Arlong laughing and mocking her. The entire strawhat crew executed before her very eyes. A giant cyclone swallowing her whole.

It was a smorgasbord of the very worst kind of scenarios to have nightmares from. Nami tossed and turned until she was so twisted and tangled in the sheets that she couldn't move. Panic set in for real when her eyes flew open in the darkness and she struggled to free her hands.


	3. Another Sleepless Night

It was a smorgasbord of the very worst kind of scenarios to have nightmares from, as if every single worst possible combination had been smushed together and spread out on display. She could not wake or sleep in those strange moments and so Nami tossed and turned until she was so twisted and tangled in the sheets that she couldn't move.

Panic set in for real when her eyes finally flew open in the darkness and she struggled to free her hands. A squeak of surprise edged out of her mouth and she tried to press her lips together in an effort to quell the frustration and instead, a whimper came free.

By the time she was able to sufficiently calm herself, hot, angry tears were streaming down her face and her nose was beginning to feel rather stuffy. Taking a few careful gulps of air, Nami swabbed her face with the sweat-soaked sheets and then pushed the damp mass away from her.

Breathing was simultaneously easy and difficult in the few seconds that followed until Nami finally squeezed her eyes shut and began counting beri in the back of her mind. It was a good trick and within minutes, she was breathing normally again.

Relief flooded through her as she gathered the strength to sit up and gingerly swing her legs over the edge of the bed. She tested her weight on her feet, contemplating a bathroom visit or a breath of fresh air.

Damp hair clung thickly to her forehead and when she finally stood up, Nami decided to head to the bathroom. Her stomach was beginning to feel queasy in the once peaceful rocking of the Going Merry.

The queasiness grew worse and Nami found herself running to the bathroom, not caring if anyone saw or heard her as long as she didn't expel whatever contents her stomach still held before an audience.

She was lucky.

In the privacy of the bathroom, she heaved and gasped, until the stomach acid burned her throat. There was nothing to come up, she'd hardly eaten all that she normally would have that day. Sanji had been occupied with making a special two-day dessert for them and he had apologized for a temporary lack of snacks.

Nami had waved it off. She was now missing Vivi more than ever and the thought of happily eating cake without the blue-haired girl, left her feeling rotten and empty. The strong-willed princess had been an excellent friend amidst the gaggle of men on the strangely extraordinary pirate ship.

She was caring, quiet and worried far too much for her own good, but she had been the closest thing to a friend since her adoped sister, Nojiko. A hitch caught in her breath and Nami rinsed her face and splashed twice with the icy water.

It helped to jerk her back to her present case and she soon stumbled back towards the girl's bedroom quarters, silently wishing whoever was on watch wouldn't see her. Her jaw settled into a crooked line as she realized the green-haired swordsman was the one on nightduty.

She moved even quieter.

* * *

Robin heard the door open and shut. She'd gone perfectly still the moment Nami's sobs had filled the room. Relief had registered when the redhead had left and Robin had taken that moment to sit up in the darkness.

She lit the lamp, quickly, checking about the room and then sliding out from the warmth beneath her own covers to check the navigator's bed. As far as she could tell, there was nothing wrong on the outside.

Her lips pursed together in thought as she retreated to her own bed and turned the lamp out. Whatever was bothering Nami wasn't something that she could help, at least, not with what little she knew of the younger woman. It had taken a bag of stolen jewels to start their relationship and they'd yet to have had a decent conversation between themselves.

Quite frankly, Robin was a bit relieved as she didn't quite know how to deal with the usual feminine quirks of gossip, secret-swapping and trading romance stories. Her life had nothing to compare to those common experiences, yet, something about the tenderness behind the redhead's fierce temper hinted at something else. Something deeper.

Robin had tucked that detail away for later thought. She'd seen a few other things that the rest of the crew had not seemed to latch onto. As the famous Miss All-Sunday, she'd seen both halves of the navigator—battle-mode and nakama-mode—it was a strangely fitting twist to the girl's personality.

The door opened again and Robin stilled beneath the covers once more, her musings cut short. She'd have to puzzle out the rest another time. She listened as Nami straightened the sheets on her bed and then climbed in once more.

She listened for the breaths to even out and lapse into sleep, but the sleep came for her long before Robin realized that Nami was still wide awake—for another sleepless night.

* * *

Nami wrapped herself in the newly cooled sheet, ignoring the faint patches of dampness that had faded to a sudden coolness. Her eyes wandered the darkened interior of the women's cabin and then settled on the stiff, sleeping figure of Robin.

She bit her lip and pulled the sheets up to her chin.

She'd had nightmares like this before. Vivi had been there for them, for her.

The blue-haired princess had immediately woken at the sound of her flailing about on the bed and shook her awake and away from the terror. With a glass of water and a warm hug, the princess had then all but forced her to join her on the other bed, careful to let her pick which side and careful to give her a fresh sheet. When Nami had curled up facing the wall, Vivi had spread her blanket over both of them and then hugged her tight from behind, humming softly until Nami had managed to fall asleep again.

 _Vivi…I miss you…_ Nami rolled over and buried her face in the thick pillow.


	4. Reflex

Robin woke the next morning with her eyes still closed. It was a habit she'd worked long to keep, a way to wake without seeming as if she really had. It was a good trick, one she'd seen the green-haired swordsman use before. He was quite good at it, actually.

Though Robin had a feeling that was a compliment he would never hear nor accept for her—and partially because she would never dare to voice it aloud. Taking her time to wake up fully, she stretched leisurely in the warm bedsheets and turned just enough to see Nami's bed out of the corner of her eye.

It was empty.

Her quiet sigh filled the empty bedroom. Rousing herself enough to climb out of bed, Robin sprouted a few extra hands to make up the bed and save her a few mere seconds. Normally, she'd take the time to do it without such flair, but her thoughts were on the distraught version of the redhead she'd seen last night.

Her curiosity was getting the better of her to see if the navigator was any better the morning after. It took another handful of minutes to dress and appear on deck. The rich scents of breakfast wafted through the air and Robin was able to tell the time.

That was nice to know that she hadn't woken too late to miss a meal—not that the cheerful, ever-present cook would allow her to. A faint smile touched her lips as she took in the sight of her crewmates sprawled across the deck.

Usopp seemed to be in the middle of teaching Luffy and Chopper a card game, Zoro was training as usual and Nami was nowhere to be found.

Robin mentally tucked away that tidbit of information as she made her way up the stairs and towards the kitchen in search of her usual cup of coffee. It was a habit she didn't see the point in denying.

She tapped politely on the door before entering, to announce her presence. She had learned early on that it was a good thing to do, because the zealous cook could become dangerously absorbed in his cooking adventures—sometimes a little too involved.

But there was only a sing-songy "Good morning, Robin-chwan~!" As she entered and a cup of steaming coffee whisked to the table in her usual spot, set down with a pretty plate and napkin, in which a slice of cinnamon coffee cake rested.

"Thank you, Cook-san." Robin rewarded him with a simple smile, taking in the kitchen's interior only to discover the familiar shock of red hair she'd been searching for.

Nami was fast asleep, her head pillowed in arms, a half-eaten milkshake and cookie combo just out of reach of her hands. From the tense posture of her shoulders, a faint shadow was visible on her sleeping face.

Robin stared for a long moment and then took the opportunity to inquire about the strange sight. "Cook-san?"

"Yes, Robin-chwan~?"

"How long…?" She tilted her head towards the sleeping navigator.

The hearts momentarily slowed and Sanji seemed to think for an equally long moment, before he turned back to his chopping at the kitchen counter. "Long." He said, simply.

Robin smiled into her coffee and turned her attention to the book she'd brought with her. Within minutes, she was flipping through the pages to find the spot she'd left off. Eventually, the coffee chilled and the cake was half-eaten, her attention completely absorbed in the written adventures.

At that point, Robin looked up to realize that she was alone in the kitchen with the sleeping navigator. Sanji was nowhere to be seen and for a moment, it seemed that the silence was strange, then she heard a few shouts and yells, followed by the familiar sounds of the cook's scolding and tough love kicks.

She almost smiled. He must have gone out of the kitchen to get something or finish up some part of the meal and had thought to do it outside as not to disturb her reading. It was a thoughtful gesture that she resolved to be sure to compliment the meal.

The red-haired girl moaned softly from beside her and the book was instantly forgotten as she turned to study the sleeping face. The moan was repeated and the smooth face twitched, contorting to reflect the nature of whatever dreams were taking place behind the closed eyelids.

For a moment, a distinct ache filtered into her mind, settling somewhere in her chest with a certain heaviness. It was something she could understand all too well. Having a nightmare where there was no one to offer comfort and in a place where such a thing might be considered a weakness.

She didn't have to rethink what she did next, it was more of a reflex that she didn't care to suppress.

Reaching out, she settled on hand, faintly on the head of silken red hair. Just light enough, to barely even feel the pressure, she ran her thin fingers over the swoop of hair that was often tucked behind the navigator's ears.

Her face twitched, furrowed and then as Robin's hand settled into her hair, stroking gently, the expression on her face began to smooth out, until nothing but peace remained.


	5. Sorting Thoughts

Robin eventually sprouted another pair of hands to hold her book open as she began to read once more, her hand slowing until it simply rested on the redhead's neck, with soft, gentle ministrations as she toyed with the strands of fiery hair.

When she heard Sanji's return, the pair of hands disappeared and Robin shifted back just enough away to her original spot, holding the book in her own two hands. She looked up with a smile as the cook entered, a half-scowl on his face that melted away immediately upon seeing her.

"Ah, Robin-chwan~! Breakfast will be ready any moment now. Is there anything my flower would desire?"

Robin let the smile linger for a moment longer as she realized the cook was carrying a large tub of fish meat. He'd gone out on the deck to clean the large fish and now was bringing back the spoils of Luffy's latest catch.

"Perhaps another cup of coffee?" She pushed the empty mug across the table.

The hearts began to stream out of his eyes. "Of course, of course!" He trilled, snatching up the cup and practically floating over to the coffee machine contraption to refill the ceramic mug. "Anything else? More cake?"

"I wouldn't want it to spoil my appetite." She allowed him to remove the small plate and fork. "Thank you."

"Anytime." He whisked the plate away and was soon back to his station beside the counter, the frying pan beginning to sizzle as he started into the last phase of the breakfast preparations.

Robin watched him for a moment, switching her gaze to the navigator before finally returning to her book. It was hard to focus on the words on the page when her mind wanted to tangle over the subtle mysteries her new nakama presented.

Mysteries that she might never fully figure out.

* * *

The smell of breakfast woke the navigator, as the scent of fried fish patties filled the small kitchen and as she groggily pulled herself to the present, Nami realized that she'd been sleeping.

Confirmation of that exact bit of information came in the sharp pinpricks of stiffness from sleeping in such an awkward position to begin with. The sigh that should have come out was stuck somewhere in her throat as Nami realized that she shared the kitchen with another person than Sanji.

She'd known venturing into the kitchen was a safe haven. Sanji, for all of his flirting and floweriness, would allow her to nap peacefully and he'd make an effort to work quietly, another testament to his skill as a chef.

A yawn seemed to stick in her throat, directly beside the sigh and Nami pressed her lips tightly together. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself, not yet anyway.

The other person in the kitchen was Robin.

Silent, mysterious and politely-smiling Robin.

Nami swallowed hard. She'd forgotten that little detail—and she didn't usually forget such things. Robin drank coffee. Coffee was served in the kitchen. Robin usually drank her coffee in the kitchen if a mealtime was drawing near, rather than venturing out onto the deck. Robin was in the kitchen for coffee.

It took her tired brain a few precious minutes to connect the dots and by then, her exhaustion was already catching up to her. Nami felt her body betray her with the simple act of relaxation as she processed the fact that there was nothing out of the ordinary and that Robin's addition to the kitchen hadn't changed what she'd come here for.

Peace and quiet.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji sang cheerfully. "Nami-san looks so adorable when she has only just awakened." But there was a teasing lilt to his voice as he winked at her, expertly flipping two fish patties with a flick of his wrist and a toss of the frying pan. "Breakfast shall be ready for you lovely ladies in just a moment."

"Ah…uh, right. Thank you, Sanji-kun." Nami managed to pull out the usual smile to accompany the answer she knew he was looking for.

His cheerful expression softened by a few degrees and he plucked a smaller patty from the stack on the counter, dropping it into a plate and returning to the frying. In between of the sizzling sounds and flying hands, Sanji managed to cut the patty into strips and pour a bit of a pickled sauce into a little bowl, presenting the treat to the women with smile.

"Thank you, Chef-san." Robin murmured, accepting the pair of chopsticks and surveying the little snack.

His smile grew wider.

Nami nodded her thanks, surprised to feel her stomach rumbling now that there were chopsticks in her hands. The methodical movements of moving the strips of fish patty to the sauce and then to her mouth, seemed routine enough to help her clear the foggy thought passages.

By the time she'd polished off most of the snack, Sanji had already begun to set the table. Robin was leaning back against the wall, holding her book in her hands, out of his way and occasionally turning a page.

Nami found herself scooting backwards and towards the brunette, if only to be out of Sanji's way and for the simple fact that sitting near Robin meant that Sanji had less of a hassle in defending their plates against Luffy's indiscriminant food-snatching. It also meant that she could eat in peace.

It was only a matter of minutes before Sanji slid her plate before her, the kind smile resurfacing again as he tucked her napkin at the corner of her plate. Shuffling to the door, he stuck his head out and shouted the usual mealtime call.

* * *

Breakfast was chaos.

Nami slipped out of the busy kitchen and out onto the quiet deck. She was relieved to be away from her nakama, if only for the sake of not having to feel so many pairs of eyes on her. Even if they were seeing absolutely nothing, it felt as if they were looking right through her and that feeling, Nami discovered, was something that she absolutely could not stomach.

With a grimace, one hand went to her stomach and Nami made her way towards the bathroom. The meal had been very good. Sanji had kept guard quiet well and Usopp had been the one keeping watch, so that meant that a surly, but fairly quiet swordsman took the usual spot at the table.

It had been a bit of a relief, because the redhead didn't think that she could've handling having to overhear one of the long-nose's ridiculously outrageous tales. Her head was twisted up in enough knots without having to add his brand of nonsense to it all.

She found herself standing in the bathroom and within minutes, she was retching into the toilet bowl, her stomach stubbornly refusing to calm. Guilt washed over her, along with a sickening feeling of shame as the acid burned her throat and another unwelcome heave had her gasping for air.

Nami sat there until she could will her feet to move and then she went about the business of rinsing out her mouth and swallowing some of the cool water from the sink. Her stomach was still twisting and turning in a way that threatened to expel the meager mouthfuls of water, but she squeezed her eyes shut, counting beri in her head, until her body submitted to the mental command to calm and return to normal.

"Something's wrong with me." She told her reflection, staring at the strange face that seemed to be a ghost of her actual self. "Really wrong." The last words came out in a mere whisper and her eyes filled with tears.

This wasn't rational at all. Whatever was going on was simply too much and that alone set her on edge. Gripping the sides of the sink, she forced herself to push away the muddled thoughts and work through logical reasons for it.

_Stress._

It just had to be stress, right? There was no other logical reason for all of that…illogical things. Her shoulders slumped and her head bowed. This was bad. Really bad.

 _Maybe I'm sick_. She bit her lip. _I could ask Chopper…_

But as quickly as that thought had surfaced, Nami squashed it. She didn't want to trouble the little doctor, who would no doubt freak out over her explanation—or rather—her excuse of what had happened and she wasn't too keen on taking medicine.

Her stomach churned again at the thought of the lingering taste from the last necessary medicine ball.

_No. Definitely not going that route._

_If not Chopper, then what next?_


	6. Eye Spy

Robin couldn't help noticing.

She really couldn't.

Nami had left the kitchen earlier than usual and she'd eaten her food quicker than the archaeologist could ever recall. That alone was odd enough to warrant more thought, but the brunette had not had that luxury as she'd had to put her book aside to keep up with the table conversation.

They were discussing something about their adventures before she'd joined and Robin had decided that she would always listen attentively whenever it came to such matters. She didn't care to ask questions that might be unwelcome and the privilege of reading the logbook hadn't been withheld, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to read it.

A breath of frustration left her as she handed her empty plate to the everpresent cook who appeared almost at once beside her to take the dish.

"Thank you, Cook-san. The meal was delicious." Robin favored him with the smile that brought the shiny pink hearts literally swimming from his eyes as he danced to the sink, humming merrily, oblivious to the swordsman's quiet grumbles to stop his noise.

Robin retreated to the usual spot on the corner of the deck, her book in hand. She read for a while until she realized that she was turning the pages, reading the words and promptly forgetting them. The story wasn't making any sense at all in spite of the progress she'd made. That was disappointing.

The fact that she'd made it halfway through the book before that had registered brought a twinge of surprise. With a sigh, she closed the volume and consciously took stock of the deck and the current nakama present. It didn't surprise her that the navigator was nowhere to be found among them and that particular realization brought another faint twinge to the back of her mind.

She could look for her—in more ways than one—but whether it would be welcome or not was an entirely different story. Robin sat, silently for a long moment. She reasoned through every argument she could think of and then the ache from before resurfaced and she rose to her feet with a resigned air. There were things she could argue with and things that she could not.

She knew herself well enough to know that leaving the matter alone would only cause her mind to shift gears and work through more complicated things than the actual truth. It would be best to simply quell her curiosity for the time being with the mere fact of the navigator's whereabouts.

It should be enough.

It had to be enough.

At least, until she was able to make better sense of the recent strangeness, Robin decided. Having settled on that point of reasoning, she brushed her hair back with one hand and started forward across the deck.

The faintest tinge of a hostile aura wafted at the corners of her senses and Robin kept her gaze straight ahead as she passed the swordsman. He was awake. She knew he was awake. He knew that she knew that he was awake. He was also being sure to let her know that he knew she was leaving the deck. That he was conscious of the current surroundings and what could be implied from her departure.

She was leaving the deck when all but one was present. The most subtle of subtle warnings.

A bitter smile registered as she descended the stairs to the women's quarters. She could try to win some favor in the grumpy swordsman's graces, but there was enough of common sense in her to note that it might not be worth the effort. It was probably best to let him accept her in his own time and for the moment, Robin supposed that she could spare that time for however long she could safely travel with the strawhats.

Her steps curved towards the women's quarters and she pulled her wandering mind back to the present. That was a safe temporary destination at the moment. It could mean that she was simply switching books or changing outfits or some other excuse. It would do for the moment.

Unless someone had been watching.

Robin frowned, angling towards the shared room and letting herself inside. She didn't like the thought of being watched, though it was fair enough in its own right, for she had kept tabs on each crewmember in ways that were less than polite. She was not so petty as to deny a fair turnabout when deserved. Sinking gratefully into the soft comforts of her own bed, Robin lay down for a moment, staring up at the wooden ceiling.

Her mind was calming enough for her to keep on reasoning through things and she finally decided on a suitable course of action. Her hands crossed and eyes closed as she murmured the words to sprout an eye and ear in various hidden corners across the ship.

With some effort, she sifted through the images and feelings, releasing each space until she found the desired person.

The redhead was standing over the bathroom sink, her hands gripping the edge of the porcelain sink so tightly that it seemed to be the only thing keeping her upright in her present state. She was breathing in gasps and her face was damp as if she'd been crying.

She simply stood there for a time, before finally washing her face and watching the water droplets dribble down her cheeks and into the sink, making no move to wipe the wetness from her features, instead opting to scrub her face with a bare arm and the hem of her short-sleeve blouse.

When she seemed to deem herself presentable, the redhead navigator turned and left the bathroom.

Robin recalled her eye and ear, methodically checking through the next possible places for the redhead's appearance. Sure enough, Nami returned to the now empty space she would temporarily deem her map-making room and promptly dropped into the empty desk chair, pillowing her head on her arms again.

She stared out at the wall for a very long time.

The wall with no window.

When she couldn't solve that puzzle, Robin withdrew the eye and ear. Something was definitely wrong with the young woman and she had no idea what ought to be done about it.

That was one mystery she hadn't thought she'd have to solve.

With her head turned to the side, Robin let her eyes wander along the wood grain and her mind to meander through the newly presented puzzle. She was observant to a fault—mostly, so if she simply sifted through everything that had happened in the past few days, perhaps there would be some details or clues providing a different outlook on things.

_Ah, Navigator-san…_


	7. Thoughtful Drinks

Nami didn't know how long she'd been sleeping, but she could make an educated guess when she heard Sanji's gentle knocking on the door, announcing that lunch was ready. His voice was pleasant, the knocking quiet enough that it didn't jar the emptiness in her head, but that it didn't fill her either. She roused herself enough to mumble an answer.

"Nami-san?" His voice held a touch of concern.

The redhead stifled a groan and sat up straight, hoping that would lend some credibility to her voice as she repeated the line. "Be right there, Sanji-kun." She saw him linger, the shadow cast faintly before the door and then his footsteps shuffled onwards. It was terribly tempting to simply let her head fall back to the desk and return to sleep.

Too tempting, so she willed her legs and feet to move, standing, a touch unsteadily.

Her stomach churned unhappily with her recent sickness and she grimaced, shuffling for the door. She could already hear the others running pell-mell for the kitchen, with Luffy's happy shrieks and shouts drowned out by Usopp's own exclamations. Another pair of quiet, deliberate footsteps seemed to pause for the slightest moment in front of the door before continuing on.

Nami didn't miss that detail. It stuck stubbornly in her head as she reasoned out the only person those footsteps could belong to.

 _Robin_.

She swallowed hard. That couldn't possibly be good at all.

Why would Robin be keeping tabs on her? Granted, the woman seemed to have her own strange code of ethics to operate by, but somehow everything that she did seemed to have some secondary purpose to it. The memory of Crocodile's jewels popped into her head and Nami sighed. That one memory outweighed nearly everything else she tried to call to mind in order to argue her point.

Robin might have her bad points—considering all that she'd done before they were nakama, but then again, she'd made up for it in ways that Nami knew were absolutely perfect. She'd saved Luffy too and their carefree Captain had cheerfully returned the favor at the first available opportunity.

The redhead's mind began to wander as she reached for the doorknob and let herself out, heading towards the kitchen/living room mix in one. She'd remembered Zoro questioning Luffy in regards to how trustworthy Robin could be and the rubber man had simply smiled and whispered something that had made the green-haired man blush to the tips of his ears. He'd then patted him on the shoulder and said "Zoro thinks like Robin—it's fine. She saved me. I saved her." And with that, the subject was closed.

The swordsman had let it drop, but Nami hadn't missed the way he doubled his guard whenever the brunette was around. She was sort of tired of it and sort of glad about it. It was one thing to argue with the green-headed idiot and threaten him with ridiculous interest rates and whatnot, but another thing entirely to know that no matter what, he had her back. Even after the fight in Alabasta, he'd carried her on his back to find the others, regardless of the fact that he had to be tired and injured—whether visible or not—and he'd done it anyway. She was beginning to hold a grudging respect for him, something fairly similar for the dark-haired brunette with the purple cowgirl hat.

* * *

Lunch was a rowdy affair as usual. Nami had managed to keep to the corners of the chaos and with Sanji generously guarding her plate for her and Robin paying no specific attention to her, the redhead ate in some semblance of peace. She ate as much as she could stomach, even if only to enjoy the sensation of being full before her fickle stomach rebelled on her.

"Nami-swan?" Sanji was at her elbow, one curly-eyebrow appropriately arched with worry. "Is something the matter?"

"Ah. It's fine. Everything's fine, Sanji-kun!" Nami forced herself to smile, speaking with as even and bright a voice as she could muster. Someone kicked her under the table and her smile wavered, disappearing altogether as she rounded on the possible offender. "Usopp!" She muttered, through gritted teeth. The kick to her foot had sent a jolt through her tired body and her stomach didn't like that very much. It took a rather concentrated effort to keep her lunch exactly where it was and nowhere else—but in her stomach.

Her temper simmered and bubbled as slender hands clenched around the respective knife and fork. Her brow darkened as she half-rose from her seat, preparing to unleash her wrath in short order.

A cool hand brushed against her arm. "Nami-swan?" Sanji peered at her, intently from beneath the blond fringe of hair. "Is something the matter?"

One stray soup bean flew from Luffy's waving fork and hit her directly below the left eye. Nami clamped her jaws shut, not trusting herself to say something that wouldn't cause some sort of permanent damage. She couldn't help it though, it was too much to stay quiet about and before she could speak, the kind cook took up her cause.

"Oi, watch it you idiots! How dare you throw food at Nami-swan? Food is not to be wasted!"

* * *

Sanji eventually lost his temper with the rambunctious boys and ordered them all outside, barking at Usopp for them to pull out the fishing gear and occupy themselves in a more productive way. They did.

A somewhat peaceful silence settled over the Going Merry—at least as much as was possible in for the strawhat pirates. Zoro opted to skip the fishing activity for the more constructive pastime of pushups—from a rather precarious position atop the post above the flying jolly roger. He counted off his single-thumbed push-ups, mumbling somewhere in the thousands when Chopper excitedly squealed and reeled in his first catch.

It was a lovely small fish and Luffy proudly congratulated him. Of course, Usopp couldn't let that go unsaid and general ridiculousness ensued in the next following minutes.

Nami watched them with the faintest degree of fondness settling over her as she leaned against the railing, feeling a tad lighter, but more tired than she'd been in a long time. She had excused herself to the bathroom—again. Her lunch had refused to stay down—again. She'd done what she'd had to do—again. And apart from the bitter taste in her mouth, she was fine for the moment.

Breathing in the warm sea air was somehow distinctly soothing in a way it hadn't been in some time. Her eyes wandered around the deck, lingering on a certain white-bloused, purple-pantsed brunette with her head in a book. She watched the older woman until the head shifted ever so slightly and the faintest smile touched the chiseled features.

Nami blushed, averting her eyes and suddenly thankful for the swooning distraction that floated out of the kitchen.

"Nami-swan~!" Sanji fairly hummed, gliding over with a garnished drink in hand. "I've brought you a special drink." He held out the silver platter. "A special tropical fruit drink to grant you silky smooth skin!" Expectant wide eyes waited as she accepted the drink.

"Thank you, Sanji-kun." She put the straw to her lips and took a tentative sip. It looked good, it smelled good and she was relieved when the coolness slid down her throat in a rather satisfying way. She rewarded his efforts with the usual smile tuned out the boy's disparaging chatter on why they ought to be treated to drinks as well.

The taste of the cool fruited liquid and the hint of the citrus garnish settled her stomach in a most pleasing way. Nami closed her eyes, sipping slowly, swishing the liquid around in her mouth. She wanted this moment to last—at least—long enough for her to savor it. A faint tremble coursed through her and she gripped the railing for support.


	8. In Her Eyes

Robin sipped her drink with a polite smile on her tanned face. She'd been sure to thank the thoughtful cook and to sneak a glance at the redheaded navigator. Nami seemed perfectly fine at the moment, until their eyes met and then she'd gratefully taken the blond cook's distraction and busied herself with the gifted drink.

As the fruity concoction slid down her throat, Robin returned her attention to the book, not really seeing the lovely black words on beautiful white pages. She was thinking more along the lines of the lovely curves on such a slender body and the smattering of invisible freckles on the expressive face of one outspoken navigator.

_Focus, Robin._

She silently reminded herself, attempting and failing to return her attentions to second volume of The Rainbow Mist. Her mind flickered back to the lunch table and she recalled the events of the boisterous meal. Nami had seemed rather close to a breaking point then. Sanji had saved her—again.

One tick of annoyance registered in the back of her head and Robin made herself turn a page she hadn't read and take a sip of the drink she suddenly, could no longer taste.

_A witch…_

The thought swirled in her head, drawing a wry smile that didn't quite make it all the way up to her face. Perhaps the green-haired swordsman was right in all his mutterings and mumblings of their resident navigator.

Nami was a witch—she'd managed to weasel her way into a head of thoughts with ideas, feelings and emotions stirring up things they shouldn't have.

Robin's musings were interrupted however, when Nami's bright weather forecast drifted to her ears.

"Wind's favorable…looks like another good day…"

It was, Robin noted, exactly as the redhead had said. She hadn't been paying attention. She hadn't noticed, her reading habit only required a position with good lighting and the least disturbance. Most days, that was out on deck or in a corner of the kitchen by the table. Her reading quiet was shattered with Luffy's wild whoop.

He'd caught something.

Robin slid one finger between the pages as she closed the book, keeping a bookmark and watching as the small pirate crew gathered around a dizzy escargot. The strawhats chattered amongst themselves before a door in the side popped open and a traveling salesman emerged. He was polite, not-too-bright and rather eager to keep his mouth running.

From her quiet spot on the deck, Robin watched the entire exchange. After they'd been at it for a few minutes, her mind shifted gears and she opened the book again, returning to her original intention—to finish volume two. She'd just sunk into the world of mystical phenomena when the stranger's high-pitched voice was suddenly beside her ear.

Years of training and experience kept her right where she was as Robin drew in a careful breath and released it.

"And you, Miss!" The salesman chirped. "You should try this silky smooth skin soap!" He began his sales pitch and Robin turned to glance at him.

"You seem to have everything." She said, politely.

"Of course!" He exclaimed, sufficiently diverted from soap-selling to further singing the praises of his company.

Robin was about to tune him out when Nami's soft voice cut through the babble. She was asking about paper. The brunette straightened up at that. The next few minutes were vaguely amusing and somewhat useful. She had never known that Nami's eyes could take on that rich, dark sparkle in their garnet depths.

The redhead's entire face had brightened by several degrees and when the salesman had begun his pitch, it was obvious within seconds that the little navigator wanted that stack of paper.

Thousand-year paper, he'd called. Robin's eyes narrowed as she listened to the bargaining begin. It was overpriced to say the least, but it wasn't in her place to say anything about it. Especially not in Nami's stead. She knew the navigator well enough by now to know that she'd get what she wanted, how she wanted.

After all, their friendship—if that was what it was—had started with a bag of stolen jewels.

Robin almost smiled. She'd never told Nami that she'd only given her a tenth of the jewels pilfered from Crocodile's holdings. It hadn't been necessary and she'd put in enough work for the bastard that she was more than entitled to her fair share. Nami's whine of disbelief caught her ear and Robin snuck a sideways glance to see the drama.

Nami was pleading for the price to come down, the expression on her face—adorable. She was only mildly surprised when Sanji stepped forward and offered to buy the stack of paper in the redhead's stead. She hadn't thought he had that much to spare from his own personal savings—no, she hadn't thought that he had any savings at all.

Her suspicions were confirmed with his next words. It was hard to hold back a smile at the rest of the crew's reactions, though in truth, she had expected them. Robin watched with hidden amusement as Sanji deftly threw a length of rope around their rubber captain and dusted his hands of the troublemaking lad.

* * *

In the following minutes as the salesman chickened out, Robin couldn't keep the smile from showing.

"He was probably afraid of you." She offered, when the bewildered crew stared after the retreating escargot. The salesman had been in the worst of a hurry and he'd forgotten several specimens of merchandise.

Several expensive specimens of merchandise—one stack of thousand year paper in particular.

Robin didn't miss the way that Nami's face suddenly blossomed with light. It wasn't one of the usual smiles or expressions of relief, it was pure, undisguised bliss. She was absolutely thrilled—and it showed in the way she ran to the stack and immediately began to run her fingers over the smooth, clear surfaces.

The memory was filed away into the corner of her head for later use and Robin found herself wishing that she'd somehow been the one to bring that smile to the young woman's face. The ache in her chest began to stir and as she turned another page—for the sake of turning pages, after all the swordsman was doubtlessly keeping track of her every movement—it took a good dose of willpower to stay in her seat and keep the expression on her face as neutral as possible.

From the way the navigator ordered quiet to be found and a smidgen of privacy, Robin instantly wanted in. It didn't take a genius to figure that the girl was going to start drawing maps—and some rather special ones at that. If the expression on her face was any indication, Robin knew that a glimpse of the very creative process would be priceless.

She'd have to take a peek.

* * *

She did.

It was well worth it.

Robin watched with some level of admiration as Nami cleared the room, set out her tools and began the difficult task of mapmaking. No wonder the poor girl had ordered some quiet and privacy. It was hard work and she needed to concentrate. Robin had to hand it to her, she hadn't thought the short-tempered Nami could concentrate like that.

No, she'd known that the younger woman was capable of it, surely, but she'd never seen it. Now it made it sense. Now she could see why Luffy had chosen her as a navigator for their little pirate crew. It made sense in every way that Luffy didn't. Robin smiled to herself, remembering, belatedly to turn the page.

She'd felt Zoro's gaze flicker to her a few times and knew the fact that she'd smiled might have set him off on edge. She didn't quite care. The few glimpses of happiness she'd seen on the face of someone so deserving of it had been the kind of inspiration she'd needed. Sometimes reading was good—sometimes thinking was better.

* * *

Sanji began to order the boys around and Robin was glad for his romantic view when he objected to Zoro's question of why she wasn't joining in on the fun. It wouldn't really have cost her much of anything, but Robin was glad to say in her chair and pretend to read as she spied on a certain someone.

Of course, having Sanji in charge of something other than food meant that chaos would soon follow—a pattern Robin had begun to recognize. It didn't take long to see the chaos play out—it ended with Luffy crashing through the door into Nami's workshop.

Robin quickly winked her spying eye out of there. What she'd seen on Nami's face wasn't the kind of expression that she wanted to remember. Nami was practically shaking from anger. From the tremors coursing through her body though, Robin knew it was more than just anger. Something was wrong with Nami and Nami wasn't going to do anything about it. Stress was showing in the most obvious way possible, but it appeared that the entire male counterpart of their crew was oblivious to it.

For the first time, the faintest tendrils of something akin to sympathy began to tug free from her cynical heart. She wondered briefly why Chopper hadn't picked up on anything, until the realization dawned on her that she'd spent an undetermined amount of time thinking about said redhead.

_Redhead. Red hair. Freckles. White skin._

A reel of memories spiraled through her head and Robin's grip on the book drew her to the present. She couldn't think about that now. She didn't want to. It wouldn't make any difference and it was all in the past. There was nothing that mattered in it and she didn't care to have any of it swirling about in her head now. It would make any possible new-

_New whats?_

Her thoughts tripped over themselves as Robin's second realization of the day registered. She swallowed her own reaction and deliberately focused on her book.

She could not go there. It was best to leave it alone. It was best to leave it all alone. She had to.

Always.

She had to read. She had to pretend. She had to make herself believe that everything was exactly as it had been since the moment she'd joined the rag-tag group of pirates.

It had to be. She could not get involved in this in any way. Not with the crew, not with business that wasn't hers and most definitely not with Nami.

There was no other logical option.


	9. Storm Inside and Out

Nami scowled as she shut the door behind the last of the male crew. Luffy's apology had been fairly close to heartfelt, but she didn't care. He had no idea how hard it was to make those maps and how difficult it was to get the crisp, straight lines just so on a bobbing boat. He had no clue.

Her shaking hands clenched into fists and she found that taking deep breaths did little for calming her down. Panic replaced anger when she realized that her body was betraying her again—in the kind of way that she couldn't quite cope with yet. Sinking to the floor, Nami began to count the breaths that wracked through her shuddering body.

Something was really wrong with her.

_Stress…this can't be stress, can it?_

For a moment, hot, angry tears brimmed in her eyes, but with every ounce of determination left in her being, Nami forced them away. She wasn't going to cry, she was stronger than this!

It's just stupid Luffy and….and everyone else!

Nami made her way to the makeshift table and began to pick up and rearrange her things. She set everything together in the way that it had been and made herself focus on the task at hand. It wasn't hard. She'd done it before.

Done it many times before.

Her jaw clenched slowly into a rigid line as she closed her eyes and briefly caught the fleeting image of the Arlong pirates in her mind. A shudder traveled through her and the grip on the quill in her hand tightened to breaking proportions. She didn't want to remember that. She didn't need to remember that.

It was over. It was all over. That chapter in her life had closed and there were other things in it now. Better things. Happier things. Things that were free of pain and disappointment.

Things that mattered.

The quill fell from her hands to the floor and Nami tumbled off the barrel to rest on the cool, smooth boards. She couldn't keep these tears in now—and she certainly couldn't draw straight lines with blurry eyes.

* * *

By the time she'd gathered herself together, Nami dug deep into her mind to push all the thoughts and memories back. This rare moment of uninterrupted space was too precious to waste. She needed to finish her maps. If she didn't have something to show for all the time that she'd worked, the boys would certainly laugh.

Well, everyone but Sanji.

Nami tucked her hair behind her ears and drew in a deep breath.

Focus. Focus. It's fine. It's okay.

And then she started.

With a smile, the weary navigator drew the last circle and held up the completed map. It was gorgeous. She absolutely loved them. Pinning it up along the rest of them, her smile wavered when the Going Merry dipped dangerously to one side.

_What was that?_

The faintest hint of panic registered, but Nami pushed it aside as she threw open the door and ran out to investigate. She discovered a teary-eyed Chopper babbling about the fine she'd imposed when throwing out the rambunctious boys. "Chopper!" His sorrowful face tugged at the corners of her crumbling heart and Nami patted his head.

"Don't worry." She murmured, turning her gaze on the snoring section of the strawhats. "Oi, guys! How long do you plan on sleeping?"

The crew sprang to life as Nami began to bark out the orders. She directed two of the strong-armed members to the rigging. "Luffy, Zoro! Hoist the sails!" She threw another gaze to the Cyclone. "Usopp, Chopper, tie down everything on deck!" Her lips pursed as she issued the final order. "Sanji, turn hard to starboard!"

* * *

In the midst of the chaos of swirling wind and water, Nami shouted out orders and encouragements to her fellow crewmates. Disaster would be avoided if they all listened.

A flash of purple caught her eye and for a moment, everything calmed as Nami stared at Robin. The tall, thin brunette sat comfortably in her chair on the deck, her eyes never leaving the page of her book as panic and general mayhem erupted around her. Her sudden rage of emotions quelled in an instant as Nami found herself taking a slow breath.

Just staring at the seated figure seemed to bring some semblance of calm collection to her.

For a moment, the briefest of moments, a pang of longing stabbed through her.

To sit and exist with such a strange calmness stirred something inside of her.

For that very brief moment, Nami wondered what it was like to be like Robin—calm, collected and cool all the time. A faint shiver ran through her and her mind slowly flickered back to the present. Her thoughts fragmented as one particular idea registered before fading away.

 _What would it be like to know that someone of such strength could be her center in times like this…someone like Robin…_?


	10. The Fog Rolls In

Robin snapped her book shut, tempering her smile. She ignored Usopp's bewildered inquiry as to whether she'd been reading the entire time. Of course she had—or at least, she'd pretended to be reading and done so quite believably.

The storm was over. They'd made it through intact.

Though Robin had to worry if the increased vigilance of certain crewmembers had something to do with a certain navigator's promise in regards to her precious maps. Robin hid a smile and sprouted an eye into the workshop where the drying maps were hung. She kept an eye on them as the storm faded away and made sure that nothing happened to any of them.

She'd only had to grab one of them—once and had been careful to do it in a way that wouldn't show. It wouldn't do for Nami to think that someone was out to get her maps. Sometimes the leaps of logic the redhead spouted made absolutely no sense at all.

Of course, the minute that a comfortable calm returned to their ship, Robin decided to retreat to her rooms for a nap. She knew it would be a quiet spot where she could read for a little more if she felt like it and the things swirling about in her head would most likely calm with a few minutes of the blissful blackness.

The blissful blackness wasn't as forgiving as she'd wanted.

The moment her eyes closed, Robin saw more memories return than she'd ever had time to count.

Red hair. Rosy cheeks. That lovely, bittersweet smile. The name that she could not speak aloud.

Soon, her blue eyes flickered open, fixing on a knot in the wood on the ceiling above. She did not move, nor blink, nor speak. She simply lay there. For now,

* * *

The next day was rather foggy.

Robin opted to save her reading for another time as her mind was focused on anything else but words on a page. She mingled with the strawhat crewmembers in the usual way. Staying around, staying close and never saying much. Never having to say much. Today, she lingered at the breakfast table, not caring to be out in the thick whiteness that seemed to dull her senses when the situation demanded they be sharp. The fog was good—it'd hide them from anything out there, but it would also prove to be a headache.

A big headache for a certain little redhead.

A very sleepy little redhead.

She'd tossed and turned the entire night again. Robin was glad for her naps the day before. She stayed awake to listen. The nightmares had been vivid. Nami wouldn't wake.

Robin took a sip of her thick coffee.

"The fog's too thick." Nami mumbled into her mug. "Who's on watch? Usopp?" She reached to an empty plate in front of her and frowned. The fog had thrown off some of her own calculations and she didn't like it. Her wandering hand skipped over the bare plate and then she ran it through her sleep-tousled hair.

"Luffy's out there too." Sanji slid another plate of sweet biscuits between the two women, snagging the empty plate on the return draw. "And Zoro. Will it last all day?"

"Hard to say." Nami mumbled around a sweet biscuit, rising from the table. "I'll have to take a look at it again. Thank you, Sanji-kun." She swiped another biscuit from the plate and stumbled out to the deck.

Robin watched her leave, feeling the threads of sleep leaving with the redhead's absence. There was something strangely empty in the young woman's absences and Robin was beginning to find it rather disconcerting. She finished the plate of sweet biscuits before her rambling mind caught up to her.

Sanji picked up the empty plate. "More coffee, Robin-chwan?" He asked, smiling for her.

"Ah, perhaps later, Cook-san." Robin rose from the table as there was a shout from outside. She made her way onto the deck in time to see the boys bickering about snow blindness over fog-whiteness.

"Eh, enough." Nami interrupted. "What can you see? Can you see anything at all?"

"The fog's thick like milk." Usopp grumbled, adjusting his sniper goggles and

Luffy shrugged, straining atop his perch on Merry's head. "Eh." He shaded his hands with his eyes.

"Wait, I can make something out." Usopp fiddled with the goggles for another moment.

When the Marine ships came into view, Robin slowly flexed her hands. The years behind her told her that trouble loomed near and it would only be some strange twist of fate for them to pass through unharmed and unscathed.

Then again, a certain Monkey D. Luffy seemed to have an inordinate amount of luck around him no matter what happened.

"Wait!" Sanji's call startled her, but only in the way that made her body react.

"Leave it to me!" Her reflexes were excellent. Robin caught the falling young boy with barely a wisp of energy from herself. She tossed him upwards through a chain of hands until he landed on the deck.

Then, as she often did, Robin stood to the side and watched the rest of the crew takeover.


	11. The Fog Stays In

"Well, he is a little Marine after all." Robin chuckled, amusement showing on her face as Usopp grumbled about their new guest's manners.

Nami found herself swallowing at the sight of the soft, light smile on the brunette's face. It wasn't an expression that she saw often. Even the woman's smile seemed forced at times and far too practiced in the few times she'd shown any sort of emotion. She'd hoped that the assassin-turned-strawhat would loosen up at least a little in the time she'd spent among them.

Then again, she knew all-too-well herself the danger of falling into the strawhats' charm. There was something about them that demanded friendship and kinship—the kind for life. It was something far too precious for Nami to give so easily. But she'd learned. She'd been learning and it was still a challenge.

But they cared.

She hoped Robin would see the same.

Or feel the same.

* * *

With Sanji gone from the Going Merry, Nami happily accepted the momentarily free time provided with two idiots gone. Zoro volunteered to keep watch and she'd ordered Usopp to help with Chopper manning the whipstaff. They'd navigate their way through to the end of the ship fleet and drop anchor there to wait for Luffy and Sanji's return.

It was a good plan and it worked.

It didn't take long for Zoro to take up his usual position at the bow, his head half-hung in sleep as if napping. Usopp maintained watch for awhile and then people began to shift around.

The fog was troublesome, so Robin moved indoors. Nami almost followed her before a slight twist in her stomach reminded her why she was standing so close to the ship's railing. Of course, Zoro followed Robin almost within a few seconds and Nami had to roll her eyes at that. She didn't have to be a genius to know that the green-headed idiot didn't trust Robin, but did he have to be so blatantly obvious about it? Granted, she'd had her own misgivings about the brunette—after all, she shared her sleeping quarters with her.

The chance that some morning she might wake up with several pairs of arms holding her hostage had danced through her mind a few times. Nami sighed. There had to be something wrong with her—really something seriously wrong with her. This was getting to be rather ridiculous. No matter what the topic or the subject, it seemed like her mind was stuck on Robin.

Really stuck on Robin.

She tried thinking about map plots, grids and island names, but somehow that led to thinking of Little Garden and Robin's first encounter with them and her attempt to help with an eternal log pose. She remembered Luffy smashing it. She remembered Robin was wearing a rather sexy-looking outfit.

The kind of sexy outfit that Nami hadn't yet found the guts to wear in spite of herself. Of course, on Robin, sexy seemed to have taken a whole new definition of the word and Nami couldn't fault the fact that Robin's appearance in that particular outfit had sent all sorts of confusing things racing through her. She'd admired her first—simply because the woman could look stylish and dangerous in the same instant. She'd loved the color purple on her, after all, it seemed to suit Robin's dark hair just right and that sort of fashion sense appealed to her feminine side when she recalled Nojiko's sometimes careless attitude towards details like that.

_Details…_

Nami felt her mind wandering and it progressed significantly in the kind of direction she hadn't thought of in a very, very long time.

Heat rushed to her face and Nami immediately squashed it, feeling rather sick to her stomach all of a sudden. She didn't want her thoughts to go in that direction. She wanted to think of something that made sense. Lots of sense…or cents…and beri. And somehow that thought led to thinking of Robin and how young she'd been when the World Government had slapped a bounty on her head. Nami licked her lips. She tried to think of beri and instead, she remembered the handful of jewels the lovely lady had gifted her as a welcome-to-the-crew present. She'd yet to sell or trade those—then again, they hadn't exactly gone anywhere that she'd want to sell or trade them…

Nami sighed. This was really an exercise in futility. Her mind was a mess. Her body was worse off and for the life of her, she couldn't make any more sense of it than the troublesome fog swathing the Going Merry.

_Soup._

She thought, irritably. She'd get a bowl of soup. Sanji had no doubt made a large pot and given some to the kitchen aid training cook, Tajiyo, there had to be some left—if Luffy hadn't eaten it all. Nami pursed her lips as another memory flickered into her head.

_Robin. Smiling._

With a groan, the redhead gave up. She went inside to get the soup. If Robin was there, then maybe…maybe…something could happen...right?


	12. The Fog Hides All

She found the soup.

Sanji had indeed made extra.

Nami needn't have worried as to whether there'd be any left over, as the rubber idiot with the monstrous stomach had rocketed himself over to the marine ship along with Sanji and Tajiyo. Without Luffy to egg him on, Usopp didn't mysteriously appear to scarf down the entire stock pot of soup and well, if Usopp wasn't there, then neither was Chopper.

The kitchen was slightly warmed and rather quiet with a silence that Nami was almost embarrassed to break. Zoro was napping in a corner—rather obviously, of course—and Robin was reading, just as she'd expected. The older woman had looked up at her entrance and offered her the customary small smile before returning her attention to the pages.

For the briefest of moments, Nami felt slighted. Then, the moment that had registered, she immediately shook the thought from her head, trying and failing to thoroughly banish it. Even if something could've come from that, there was no way she wanted it to happen while a certain green-haired idiot was present. Nami swallowed, sneaking a glance in the swordsman's direction. There was never any real way to tell if he was sleeping or not. For all she knew, he was secretly spying on them.

Of course, that thought didn't make much sense either and with a nervous smile, Nami turned to the stove. She stood there with a red face in front of the stove for far longer than necessary, staring into a three-quarters full stock pot, until the sound of Zoro's snoring brought her back to the present.

Maybe he really was sleeping.

The red began to fade from her face and with a sigh of relief, Nami let herself relax. She was reading too much into everything. This was ridiculous. It was all ridiculous. She moved quickly around the kitchen, retrieving a bowl from the cabinet and a spoon from the utensil drawer. Dishing out a generous serving, the redhead was careful to cover the pot carefully and not to spill a drop of the delicious smelling soup. She carried the dish over to the table and chose a spot opposite of Robin. She couldn't help it.

She was about to take a mouthful when it occurred to her to offer some to the brunette. Her mouth went dry. She licked her lips, debating whether she ought to say something when her traitor mouth spoke for her. "Ne, Robin?"

Pale blue eyes raised upwards to gaze at her over the top of burgundy covered book. "Yes, Navigator-san?"

"Ah, I was going to ask if you wanted some soup. Sorry to bother you." Nami felt the first hints of a returning blush beginning to grace her cheeks and she hurriedly stuck a spoonful of soup in her mouth.

"I am fine, thank you." Robin said, smoothly.

A rather awkward silence seemed to fill in the air between them and Nami miserably finished her soup, rising from the table to deposit the dirty dishes in the sink. Her mind was doing that game thing again, where nothing she tried to reason through made sense and anything that did come out usually made her want to crawl in a hole and stay there.

She stayed long enough to wash her dishes and set them aside to dry on the dish rack—she knew Sanji well enough to know that he didn't appreciate the crewmembers messing around in his kitchen, but that he'd forgive it if they were careful. Very, very careful. She'd tried her best.

One way of being careful was to wash the dishes used. It was a trick Nami had learned early on. Sanji was liable to forgive her for nearly anything, it would seem, but she didn't want to test the limits of that. It was always the small things that led up to the bigger things.

Small things.

The thought lingered and Nami bit her lip.

She was thinking of Robin—again.

Wondering exactly how many small things had happened to drive the woman to the point where she was with them today. It had to be quite a large number. Even with all she'd been through, even with all that Arlong and has crew had done to them, Nami swallowed hard. She'd considered harming herself. She'd actually done it—stabbing her own arm—before Luffy had caught up to her.

She'd never forget the look in his eyes.

A faint shiver ran through her and suddenly, Nami could see his face.

Arlong. With his pointed, beaked nose, the sharp teeth, the laughing smirk and that horrid, blue color.

A rippling shudder ran through her and Nami felt herself moving.

She was out of the kitchen and onto the deck. Catching sight of Usopp and Chopper babbling to each other from the crow's nest and the figurehead, Nami bolted. She found herself in the bathroom, heaving over the toilet before she could help herself. In coughing, rasping gasps, she struggled to remain upright as her stomach rejected her well-intentioned effort to feed it.

Her grip on the porcelain bowl loosened and Nami sank to the floor.

Her mind muddled and spilled over.

She scrabbled at the tiled floor with trembling fingers before the tears came.

Robin. Vivi. Arlong. Faces. People. Things. Horrible, terrible memories.

It was too much.

It was just too much.


	13. The Fog Remains

She saw her leave.

In fact, it took the brunette a significant amount of willpower to stay in her seat, with her eyes glued to the page and her posture exactly as it ought to be as not to give anything away. She knew the green-haired swordsman wasn't sleeping, but it appeared that Nami couldn't tell the difference. Robin had noticed that detail in the way that her redheaded crewmember had reacted to her polite refusal to a bowl of soup.

It had simply been easier to refuse it than to mention that her own stomach was too preoccupied to handle food and that she'd watched Sanji make the meal earlier and had been duly fed for being a polite kitchen companion. At any rate, Robin had been pleased to see the younger woman actually eating something for a change and hoped it would do the girl good.

She'd been putting the clues together for a while now and didn't quite like the answers she was getting. As far as she could tell Nami wasn't quite as innocent as she liked to play it out. There were all sorts of hints, but most of it she'd pieced together on her own from simply watching the redhead when the girl thought no one else was looking.

A sadness or some other sorrow seemed to haunt the girl.

And Robin couldn't stand idly and watch it happen any longer.

Perhaps it was the red hair and the freckles that tugged at conscience—or rather what was left of it—or maybe it was just to see the smile on her face, like the one in the small photograph of Nami and the blue-haired Alabasta princess. It was the kind of beautiful, carefree smile that spoke of the kind of freedom she'd sought for herself. The freedom to be herself in every capacity, doing what she'd loved.

Robin closed her book with a sneeze, rubbing her nose delicately before rising from the table and walking out onto the deck. She needed the short window of time to move quickly. Zoro was doubtless to be on his feet and following her—accidentally of course—and if she didn't make a clear destination.

With hardly a flicker of her own energy, Robin sprouted an eye in several of her usual places around the ship. She ducked down below deck, aiming for the women's sleeping quarters, when her progress was halted midway. One sprouted eye in the bathroom had caught an eyeful of something she hadn't ever really wanted to witness again.

Nami throwing up once over eating someone else's bad sushi was one thing.

Nami repeatedly throwing up and starving herself over the course of nearly two weeks was entirely another.

If she were anyone else, then perhaps Robin might have thought the girl was pregnant—after all, sickness on the sea could not be confined to the morning—and her sudden reaction to certain foods, in addition to the frequent bathroom trips would most certainly have been a dead giveaway to anyone who was watching.

Anyone who was really watching.

But Robin had watched and she had seen all.

Nami's most intimate encounters since Robin had joined were confined to love affairs with new leather sandals and fancy silk blouses in the most expensive shopping boutiques they'd stopped by. Of course, expensive merely meant that Nami graced the establishment that was the best looking shop in the town and only purchased quality goods. It was a good standard to live by.

A good standard.

Nami tended to keep her standards high and generally took good care of herself.

Generally.

Images from the bathroom flashed through her mind and Robin closed one eye for a moment to deal with the overlapping visions. This was bad.

She changed her course at once, moving carefully and expertly through the ship. She could see with that eye that Nami had immediately thrown up all that she had eaten before collapsing on the floor in a heap of anguished tears. Anguished, because the expression on her lovely freckled face was the most tortured one of pain the brunette had ever seen on her.

There were things she hadn't resolved and things that she had yet to accept, especially within this crazy pirate crew. But the one thing she had learned to trust throughout her life was the same thing currently coaxing her to step forward and act on the feelings she'd tried to suppress in the past few weeks.

Feelings that refused to go away.

Robin found herself standing in front of the bathroom door and she sucked in a breath. Politeness demanded that she knock, so she did.

Very quietly.

Too quietly.

And then she sprouted hands to undo the lock from inside and let herself into the bathroom.


	14. The Fog Within, Part 1

 

Nami was indeed curled up on the floor, curled into herself, her eyes wide and blank, tears spilling out from her lovely crimson eyes, sobs and shivers wracking her body in uneven motions as she lay on the cold, tiled floor.

For a moment, Robin stood over her, waiting and watching. Her mind whirled around in a new kind of frenzy, reading the situation as experience had taught her and processing it in the most basic way that a human being could. She waited a moment longer than necessary, perhaps, waiting for some other reaction.

But Nami didn't move.

The bathroom was nearly silent, save for the quiet sobs coming from the floor.

"Navigator-san?" The title fell easily from her lips and Robin bit her lip the moment it fell past her lips. "Are you alright…?" She tried, dropping to a crouch beside the young woman. The girl didn't move and her skin was cold as Robin slid warm hands around her upper half, attempting to raise her upright.

Nami remained limp and incoherent, her eyes vacant and her tears unstoppable.

She needed someone gentle, someone kind. But she'd lost that kind of touch years ago. Robin pressed her lips into a thin line. Nami would have to make do with her. Gentle might be what the situation called for, but Robin was what had appeared and she would have to do.

With an ease that hid her concern and confusion, Robin easily hauled Nami to her feet, holding the girl flush along her body to support her. She felt her neck and forehead, recognizing a fever and that the shivers were from the tears. This really wouldn't do. The girl had worked herself up into quite a state. "Navigator-san…" Robin reached for a clean washcloth and began to dab at Nami's tear-stained face.

The girl made no move to accept or refuse the help being offered.

A slight spark of frustration registered as Robin tried to hold Nami's head steady, only to have it lolling into the crook of her elbow. Without a second thought, she sprouted hands, working to hold her concentration and to have the hands holding Nami steady. Dipping the washcloth in the ofuro's warm bath water, Robin resumed her dabbing at a quicker pace.

Her concern grew at the girl's unresponsiveness and then for that fact that everything surrounding the girl seemed to be a mess. Robin stifled her sigh and guided Nami to the sink. Tilting Nami over the sink, Robin cupped handfuls of water to splash on her face. She dried the dampness with a fresh washcloth and then cast a glance towards the toilet.

The sight made her own stomach twist, but she flushed the mess away, her mind tucking details in corners for later thought. She needed to focus on the here and now. The here where the girl in front of her was starting to act more like a mindless doll than a living human being. Her mind whirled and settled as it was apt to do in moment like this and desperately needing something to cling to, Robin opened the bathroom medicine cabinet.

She was vaguely relieved to see a new toothbrush in the tangle of shared toiletries and she snatched it up, tearing off the wrapper. Normal. That was what Nami needed. This was far from Nami's normal, but it was most certainly Robin's normal. One of the few good memories she could call to mind in stressful times had included extremely gentle hands and generous amounts of minted toothpaste.

Rinsing the brush in the sink, Robin squeezed some of the gel out of the toothpaste tube, reaching towards Nami. "This will…help." She heard herself say, surprised at the hesitancy in her own voice. It would help her, but whether it would help Nami was another story entirely. But when she held the brush up to the redhead's lips, they pressed stubbornly together, the tears continuing to stream.

It was an improvement—the first reaction she'd yet to see—but it wasn't the reaction that she had wanted. Robin felt the faintest stirrings of frustration beginning to bubble up. Perhaps she should've acted sooner. No, if she'd acted sooner, then she most certainly wouldn't have been using her hands to support the lovely navigator—she'd have used them to hold her down and wring cries of pleasure from the same lips that were now pressed so tightly together.

It could've have been pleasant—Robin had been sick enough times to know that the taste of bile in her mouth was always the taste she couldn't wait to forget and yet the one that would linger longest. Brushing her teeth straightaway had always helped to wash away the unpleasantness. Maybe it would work for Nami. She waved the toothbrush carefully before the crimson eyes. "Navig—Nami." She corrected. "If you would prefer that I wasn't-"

_No! That's not what I want to say…! I want to ask you what you're doing? What's going on? Why are you doing this? Why are you like this? Do you have any idea how much your friends are counting you? How can you fall to pieces at a time like this? And why must you do it only when I can see? It bothers me and I can't-!_

Robin sighed, the right hand dropping to rest on the edge of the sink, the left arm curving around to cup the redhead's chin. The teary-eyed expression was tugging at the darker side of her personality—the one that would have rather be the cause of the tears, rather than the audience for them. She tapped the soft pink lips, taking note of the way they quivered, then pressed into a tight line.

Ah. So it would be that way. Well, two could play at that. Robin's grip on Nami's chin tightened just a touch, fingers expertly seeking the pressure points that would give her the way she wanted.

The tears slowed, a flicker of protest showing, but her mouth opened anyway—she wasn't in the kind of position to do otherwise.

_Success!_

The toothbrush shot upwards and within a few seconds, Robin felt a slight surge of triumph as she guided the brush around the curve of Nami's mouth. It was short-lived in the moment that Nami bit down on the toothbrush.

Robin blinked.

So unexpected. So impulsive. So childish.

So…Nami.

The tears had stemmed and the hands that had hung limply by her sides had now curled into fists.

That was good.

Robin gave the toothbrush a tug. Nami glared at her. The brunette fought to hide a smile, feeling the dread and tension flip-flip into something lighter and slightly more acceptable. She took a step backwards, taking time to be sure that Nami was standing on her own. Her eyes held the laughter that wouldn't leave her lips as she deliberately released each hand, one at a time, enjoying the sight of the deepening flush on the creamy red skin as each finger brushed a little harder than necessary and each hand lingered a little longer than needed.

When Robin thought Nami's face couldn't get any redder, one fisted hand reached up to hold the toothbrush and in short, jerky movements, the redhead began to brush her own teeth.

Silence reigned, with the exception of the toothbrushing and Nami's occasional sniffles.

Robin stood to the side, finding that she could do nothing more than wait. Her body seemed bolted to the floor, refusing to move as thoughts swirled through her head, mingling with the reality that was playing out before her. She opened her mouth and then shut it. There wasn't something that she could immediately call to mind to say and if she'd learned anything at all, saying less was always best. She swallowed.

_Wait._

Nami rinsed her mouth, turning off the water taps and wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her shirt. Her head bowed, face hidden by the short crop of fiery hair as her hands gripped the edge of the sink, hard. "W-why?" She asked.

"Navigator-san?" The phrase fell too easily from her lips.

"Why?" Nami whirled around, her hands clenched tight at her sides, eyes squeezed shut. "How did you-? Why did you-?"

"Navigator-" A pang stabbed through her chest. Robin bit back the honorific hovering on her tongue. "Nami, please, calm down."

"Calm down? I don't even know what's wrong with me and I don't-!" The words died out with a choked sob as Nami burst into tears again, scrubbing furiously at her eyes. "It hurts!" She hugged her arms to herself, doubling half-over. "It hurts." The admission came out as a tearful whisper the second time around. "I can't make it stop!"

Robin found her feet moving forward as Nami seemed to crumple towards the floor. The atmosphere had flip-flopped for the second time that day in the same instance for the same situation. Feelings of confusion and dread had vanished moments before only to return in full-force, because the moment she was close enough, Nami all but threw herself into the slender arms that now held her tight.

"N-nami!" Robin held her tight, her body processing the situation faster than the rest of her. She was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that Nami was shivering and rather warm. Very warm. The fact that Nami currently clung so tightly to her, had Robin working to keep up with it. It was taking more willpower to keep herself together, to keep from doing anything that would compromise the careful balance she'd managed to construct between them.

"Robin…!" Nami lifted her head with those shimmering, teary eyes, flushed creamy skin and barely parted lips of soft petal pink.

"Na-mi?"

"Make it stop…please…" and then, Nami kissed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating some old chapters I had lying around...


End file.
